Following the abundance of news at Monday's keynote presentation, analysts on Wall Street offered their reactions to clients via research notes. AppleInsider offers a roundup of the highlights below.

Evercore

Analyst Rob Cihra took particular note of Apple's emphasis on user upgrades, as 89 percent of iOS users are running the latest version of iOS 7, while OS X Mavericks has been adopted by 51 percent of the Mac installed base. In contrast, just 9 percent of devices running Google's Android are running "Kit Kat," its latest version, while Microsoft's Windows 8 has just 14 percent adoption.

"This positions Apple to capitalize on unique levels of consistency/security/functionality attractive to users but perhaps even more so to developers," Cihra wrote.

Cihra, like many on Wall Street, was encouraged by WWDC, but is more excited about profitable new products from Apple expected to launch in the second half of 2014. In addition to new, larger iPhone models, he's also hopeful that Apple will debut an updated Apple TV that will be able to run third-party applications, as well as a wrist-worn "iWatch."

RBC Capital Markets

Analyst Amit Daryanani questioned whether Apple has placed Google squarely "in the crosshairs" at this year's WWDC. He noted that both iOS and Yosemite will use Microsoft's Bing, rather than Google to run native Spotlight searches for Internet content.

In addition, Daryanani said that Apple's newly announced and simplified Swift programming language could help ensure that applications written for iOS aren't as "easily portable," meaning they might stay exclusive to iOS and not appear on competing devices running Android.

Daryanani also believes that Apple's HomeKit and HealtKit application programming interfaces could be the building blocks for Apple to sell connected home devices and a so-called "iWatch" at some point down the road.

Morgan Stanley

For Katy Huberty, Apple's keynote hinted at potential service opportunities the company could capitalize on. In particular, she's excited about the Touch ID fingerprint scanner being opened up to third-party apps, which she believes could pave the way for mobile payment services.

And improvements to iCloud, along with much cheaper storage options, could result in more meaningful services revenue for Apple, she believes. Huberty noted that while Apple previously charged $8.33 per month for 100 gigabytes of iCloud storage, its new plan is less than half that, at $3.99 per month, for twice the storage.

With at least 450 million iCloud users, Huberty believes storage upgrades represent a $5.3-billion-plus revenue opportunity for the company.

Piper Jaffray

Like Huberty, analyst Gene Munster also believes there are future opportunities for Apple to monetize new services. Specifically, he mentioned HealthKit and HomeKit as ways that Apple could charge parters for building authorized "Made for iDevice" accessories that are compatible with the company's ecosystem.

Munster also sees the HealthKit tools as setting the stage for an "iWatch" launch later this year. He believes Apple will likely announce such a product around October, at an event after it introduces its next iPhone.

Cowen and Company

Apple's new software and services will bode well for long-term ecosystem lock-in, analyst Timothy Acuri believes. He was especially impressed by the "continuity" features that bring OS X and iOS closer than ever, including Handoff, AirDrop, and iCloud Drive.

"The increased integration between OS X and iOS is further evidence, in our view, that Apple will eventually move to collapse the new high-end tablet and notebook markets with a new product(s) and that iPhone is being further positioned as a drive of Mac/iPad sales," Acuri wrote.

J.P. Morgan

Connectivity between iOS 8 and Yosemite, allowing phone calling and text messaging via a Mac, should help to lock users in to Apple's ecosystem, analyst Rod Hall believes.

And he believes that Apple's improvements to iCloud, including the addition of iCloud Drive, look better than competing services like Dropbox, thanks to the fact that background syncing is maintained across all Apple devices.

Wells Fargo Securities

Compared to other analysts, Maynard Um has been bearish as of late on Apple, with a "valuation range" for the company's stock of between $595 and $640. Following WWDC, Um said the keynote was a "slight disappointment" to him because of the lack of hardware announcements.

Um also said he felt Apple offered only a "cursory address" of its new home automation capabilities in iOS 8.

He did admit, however, that he was "encouraged" by the announcement of Apple's HealthKit and corresponding Health application, which he believes could allow the company to monetize user data analytics. But he also said that the transition to profiting off of this data would be "difficult."

Katy, where were all of your rumored announcements? Bad guesses or money spent on poor inside information?

Maynard, why did you expect hardware to be announced? It's the software that makes things run and if you don't understand this, get a new job. There was enough software enhancements and new directions announced to drive plenty of new hardware. The hardware is easy, it's the software that's difficult. Of course, analysts can only analyze what they can see.

Analysts contribute nothing at all besides making idiotically wrong, boneheaded predictions and they produce nothing besides noise. The best thing to do is just ignore them all. 75% of news and rumors about Apple is just garbage and should be filtered out, in my opinion.

The last thing that I would do before buying any stock or investing in Wall Street is to listen to what any of those clowns have to say.

I’m waiting for Rob Enderle and Paul Thurrott’s take on this. They’re the only truly unbiased analysts when it comes to all things Apple. You can trust what they say about Apple and they’re always right.

not sure the "analyst" quotes above are consistent with this article's headline - but the headline is, yes indeed, the real story yesterday:

- Apple finally added its own versions of the most popular features of Android that iOS previously lacked, taking that advantage away from Google.

- Apple is taking every opportunity, especially its newly prominent Spotlight search, to make using Google search unnecessary for common everyday needs, incorporating strategic connections with Wikipedia, Yelp, and even Microsoft, and others (furthering this strategy which began with the iOS Maps app over a year ago).

- Apple greatly reinforced the consumer "stickiness" of its ever-expanding Apple ecosystem, ensuring it will remain much harder to switch from iOS to Android than vice-versa just to save a few hundred $'s, and further reinforcing the "halo" effect of iOS that boosts all Apple products.

- All the new iOS (and OSX) software tools for developers will result in a burst of new/much improved apps later this year that will be a big hit with consumers. just about every current app will get some useful enhancement, and virtual world game graphics will get a "wow!" upgrade (which Google can't match until Android gets 64 bit power).

- In response to this, current iPhone and iPad owners will update to iOS 8 at a record pace to take advantage this app explosion (even the 4S and iPad 2!), and the launch of the next iPhone(s) this Fall will be sensational.

Apple is offering consumers an ecosystem that is even smoother, more seamless, simpler - and safer - than before. Except for Google's own excellent but limited cloud services (at the very high cost of your privacy), Android simply can't do any of that - that is the intrinsic downside of its "openness."

i was shocked to read these- they were actually being kind, i thought. i was expecting something like, 'another major letdown by apple- sell your stocks, they are crashing and burning 8 years straight with bankruptcy in sight.'

He did admit, however, that he was "encouraged" by the announcement of Apple's HealthKit and corresponding Health application, which he believes could allow the company to monetize user data analytics. But he also said that the transition to profiting off of this data would be "difficult."

Dear analyst. When has selling user data ever been part of Apple's business model? (Ans: never)

"Monetising" personal medical data is really easy for Apple. They are careful with their APIs and give their customers (the end user) the ability to tightly control how that data is used, and take 30% on sales of the new apps that will be launched to make use of it. They state quite clearly "we will not sell your medical records to anyone..." and lo, it shall come to pass that people who value their privacy shall buy iPhones.

I’m waiting for Rob Enderle and Paul Thurrott’s take on this. They’re the only truly unbiased analysts when it comes to all things Apple. You can trust what they say about Apple and they’re always right.

Wait a minute. What did I just say?

Paul is one of the biggest Microsoft asspuppets there are. In typical Microsoft fanboy'ism, he downplays everything Apple does. I see him on TWIT all the time and he always makes himself look like an ass when he talks about Apple. I guess when you're paid by Microsoft to write books for them you're supposed to do this.

Paul is one of the biggest Microsoft asspuppets there are. In typical Microsoft fanboy'ism, he downplays everything Apple does. I see him on TWIT all the time and he always makes himself look like an ass when he talks about Apple. I guess when you're paid by Microsoft to write books for them you're supposed to do this.

Yeah, the guy pretends he's being "objective", yet you can tell he's an angry little troll.

Apple's new Search (well the resurrection of Sherlock, if you're old enough to remember) is to me the most pointed dagger toward Google. If Apple does this right, more and more users will rely on Search as a go to tool, and not google.com and their ad revenue model.

Search provides the foundation for Apple to launch its own search engine, which I think is strategically important for Apple. Getting the front end right first is a large baby step...once operating smoothly, they can launch their own engine. I'm sure they have been building one for years...may or may not turn it live, but like developing OS X for intel concurrently and secretly, controlling search is very vital to so many services.

It's a direct shot because Android & some other operating system have a similar tight integration?

No, it's a direct shot in the sense that Google/Android is glaringly vulnerable on the 'seamless integration of devices' front due to fragmentation, no PC OS, and no real hardware operations. A better description would have been a 'lethal' rather than 'direct' shot.

Anyway, this is not surprising. When complex mass consumer products reach a certain level of maturity, refinement, fine-tuning and optimization become the battlefield for competition and when you are building software to run on a hundred and one different devices, you will not be able to keep up with the guy who's dealing with five or six. It's inevitable. If you think of software as a problem-solving exercise, the solution is much easier (and simpler!) if you have only five or six moving parts to contend with as opposed to a hundred. Something similar happened with automobiles in the early 20th century --By the 1930's pretty much all the independent engine, chassis, and coach builders have either disappeared or coalesced into integrated auto manufacturers.

It's a direct shot because Android & some other operating system have a similar tight integration?

I see the statement as saying Android doesn't have the same level of integration as all Apple devices will have. Android-powered laptops are available aren't they so they could say they could integrate between a phone, tablet, and laptop? Microsoft will say the Surface provides the integration in one computer. Of course Microsoft will say their servers (Sharepoint, gag me!) provide all the integration a "real" user needs. Apple devices will have so much more integration than anything Android can figure out or Microsoft can try and sell. This integration either happens automatically or with the minimum amount of touches or clicks, something Microsoft will never figure out. This is a huge shot at Android and Microsoft (forget about linux).

"A handoff feature makes it possible to start writing an e-mail on the iPhone and finish it on a nearby Mac, something Gmail users have been able to do for years."

That has got to be a joke. Handoff allows you to do ANYTHING on your Mac, then pick it up immediately on your phone. Saving a draft in gmail then bringing it back later is equivalent to working on a file in Numbers on a Mac, saving it, then opening the app on your iPhone. This kind of ignorance is like saying, back in 2007, "Apple released a phone that allows you to dial saved contacts, something that Nokia owners have been able to do for years."

It reminds me of the more annoying troll opinions along the lines of:

"Yeah but iOS doesn't have widgets, or replaceable keyboards or reply-in-place messages. So Android is better."
*iOS 8 is announced*
"Yeah, who cares? Android has had those features for years. So Android is better."

They probably just want to lower the stock price so they can buy them up. I think many fandroids don't realize that apple is adding feature parity so we can stay far away from android devices without missing a thing, and keep all of our beloved apple features. It's not playing catch up, it's just giving us the few extras that android has so we can continue using all of our awesome features!

That literally has to be one of the shittiest and stupidest articles I've ever read- I was close to being nauseous, just trying to wrap my head around the utter stupidity. How the **** do these people exist? I was gonna quote stuff but then I realize that almost every statetement is quote worthy. The entire premise is:

1. You can already use a patchwork of difference services, from different companies, with different accounts and credentials to roughly approximate what Apple is aiming to accomplish as an integrated and seamless experience, so why should Apple bother?

2. Why isn't Apple putting its efforts into making other platforms better and more attractive? Damn Apple for focusing on OSX/iOS and its pwn products, instead they should worry about those people that choose to use another platform and somehow make that other platform better.

This captivity may be a reason to resist the castle's charms: Given the slow pace of Apple's hardware innovation, it may soon be possible to assemble a better experience using apps and devices from various developers and manufacturers. There are more people working to that end outside the castle walls than Apple can ever hire. Being in the open field has its advantages.

So Apple should give up, since you can create a clusterfuck experience using various platforms and hardware that kinda have the same features as a single one. Brilliant analysis. I wont even comment on the "slow pace of hardware innovation" statement.

So Apple should give up, since you can create a clusterfuck experience using various platforms and hardware that kinda have the same features as a single one. Brilliant analysis. I wont even comment on the "slow pace of hardware innovation" statement.

Thank you.

Just. Fucking. Thank you.

Edit:

Quote: "...people who have always found programming daunting, such as artists..."

SUCH AS ARTISTS.

GREENGROCERS. BRICKLAYERS. ARTISTS. RANDOM GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO ARENT PROGRAMMERS.

Ok, that's enough. I don't know why that article is so aggravating. Its gotta be a joke and I'm just gonna pretend it doesn't exist. Before I go insane.Edited by frxntier - 6/3/14 at 11:00am

Dear analyst. When has selling user data ever been part of Apple's business model? (Ans: never)

"Monetising" personal medical data is really easy for Apple. They are careful with their APIs and give their customers (the end user) the ability to tightly control how that data is used, and take 30% on sales of the new apps that will be launched to make use of it. They state quite clearly "we will not sell your medical records to anyone..." and lo, it shall come to pass that people who value their privacy shall buy iPhones.

Medical data is always going to be shared. How else would we know that there's currently a measles outbreak in the US?

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

Anal guys will soon realize hammering blows are coming down to Google and their predictions:

Just to name some:

1. Extensions - apps collaborating in secure way. Where is now "closed and non extensible system"?

2. Integration with OS X - OS's are melting together like a finest belgian chocolate in your mouth... What will Shmoogle do? Make Chrome XX? Steal Windows? Android Desktop? Will they buy Acer and make crappy plastic computer like themselves?

3. Enterprise - I won't even bother...

4. Touch Kit API? Who with? How? Which device?

5. Spotlight - not better than Now, but quantum leap in way how Apple learned integrating services. Nextgen catches Now.

6. Swift - Productivity raised to unreachable level. Will make iOS apps even more profitable.

7. Larger screen device in Autumn - Samscrap already fired all its bullets last year. They will loose the only profitable segment. Soon.

A little off topic but am I the only one who finds it strange that Spotlight for OSX uses Bing and Spotlight for iOS 8 uses Google?
I wonder what the reason behind this is...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chandra69

Even I was surprised to see Google on live event.
But I read on other blogs that - it was tested for the pre-event with Google. So, continued.

It also may have been Apple's way of (a) showing everyone that the user can set who they want to use for a search engine. (b) Keep Google and Microsoft uncertain of who Apple may favor when the software is released this Fall. (c) Apple seemed to use Bing when needing a smooth translation demo without cutting and pasting.

Apple may see Microsoft as less of a hardware competitor, now and down the road, and is moving the spotlight away from Google/Android. Additionally, MS, under new sane leadership, may be more willing to provide the hooks needed to work more seamlessly with Apple's OS. You may have noticed that Apple is accommodating Windows into the continuity solution. This is likely more to grab more business from enterprise users then it was to "be nice" to MS, but I'm sure MS appreciated the nod.

"That (the) world is moving so quickly that iOS is already amongst the older mobile operating systems in active development today." — The Verge

The new Apple software updates are going to be the catalyst for the fall hardware devices. Software may not be too sexy for nob- software developers, it does serve as a baseline for new exciting apps and devices. This time I think Wall Steeet gas realized this tenant. Also, there not not enough time to showcase both hardware and software in one event and it would have been immature as well

Google will regret stabbing Apple in the back, especially once Samsung breaks free of Android.

I hope Google already regrets their back stabbing. Android was supposed to steal the whole smartphone business away from Apple and drive apple back into the computer business. It failed. Chrome was designed to steal the laptop business from Apple and blunt Apple's market in that area. Both have failed and now Apple is taking back market share and showing strong leadership in software design that adds high value to consumers, small business, and enterprise customers alike.

If you paid close attention to the Spotlight demos you can see Apple is now able to make it possible for users to do serious searching without even using Google... By this Fall when the new hardware arrives, we could see Spotlight fully fleshed out to remove Google from the picture and, by extension, user's minds. THAT would be sweet justice!

"That (the) world is moving so quickly that iOS is already amongst the older mobile operating systems in active development today." — The Verge

Anal guys will soon realize hammering blows are coming down to Google and their predictions:

Just to name some:

1. Extensions - apps collaborating in secure way. Where is now "closed and non extensible system"?

2. Integration with OS X - OS's are melting together like a finest belgian chocolate in your mouth... What will Shmoogle do? Make Chrome XX? Steal Windows? Android Desktop? Will they buy Acer and make crappy plastic computer like themselves?

3. Enterprise - I won't even bother...

4. Touch Kit API? Who with? How? Which device?

5. Spotlight - not better than Now, but quantum leap in way how Apple learned integrating services. Nextgen catches Now.

6. Swift - Productivity raised to unreachable level. Will make iOS apps even more profitable.

7. Larger screen device in Autumn - Samscrap already fired all its bullets last year. They will loose the only profitable segment. Soon.

In short: Google, go sell some clicks, please...

yes. this actually reminds me of the "Mac-killer" Windows 95 launch back in the day, when MS co-opted many useful OS 7 UI elements it previously lacked (and Netscape's pioneering browser too) and used its "walled" enterprise PC lock-in (cross platform services/files did not yet exist) to push Apple and all others aside for the next 12 years. Now it's Apple's turn to do the same to Google (and Dropbox et al.) with iOS 8, centered on its ever growing, constantly improviing consumer-friendly "walled garden."

Android will continue to dominate the global cheap feature phone market for the foreseeable future, especially in the developing world. but more and more varieties will be regionalized non-Google rips and forks, so outside Google's ecosystem. and in any event that customer base is much harder to "monetize" significantly, because of its totally balkanized regional diversity and its very limited second/third world spending power.

Apple obviously aims at first world customers and their equivalents in the developing world. China being the #1 target of course. thanks to subsidized 2 year bundled hardware/service packages in the US, Apple may actually take control of a majority of the market here next year thanks to iOS 8. it likewise is #1 in Japan now, and iOS 8 will certainly reinforce that. Europe is much more of a challenge because there hardware and telco services are unbundled by law, plus very high taxes on hardware, making it an Android stronghold today (and the best hope for Windows/Nokia Phone). this also holds back widespread adoption of the Apple ecosystem and OS X computers in Europe. a big test for iOS 8 will be whether it finally enables Apple to break through that resistance and substantially increase its market share in Europe. if it does, then it really will be the "Android killer."

I hope Google already regrets their back stabbing. Android was supposed to steal the whole smartphone business away from Apple and drive apple back into the computer business. It failed. Chrome was designed to steal the laptop business from Apple and blunt Apple's market in that area. Both have failed and now Apple is taking back market share and showing strong leadership in software design that adds high value to consumers, small business, and enterprise customers alike.

If you paid close attention to the Spotlight demos you can see Apple is now able to make it possible for users to do serious searching without even using Google... By this Fall when the new hardware arrives, we could see Spotlight fully fleshed out to remove Google from the picture and, by extension, user's minds. THAT would be sweet justice!

Who's to say Apple wouldn't have made these moves anyway?

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX